Janet Scudder

Who was Janet Scudder?

Janet Scudder was an American sculptor.

Born as Netta Deweze Frazee, Scudder's childhood was marred by tragedy. Her father was a hardworking Terre Haute, Indiana confectioner who was active in community affairs. Her mother died, aged 38, on September 6, 1874. Four of her seven siblings died before they reached adulthood. As a result of these tragedies, Scudder was raised by Hannah Hussey, the family maid, cook and nurse, but she resented her stepmother.

Scudder studied drawing as a child under Professor William Ames of Rose Polytechnic Institute of Technology, now Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Despite his fragile financial resources, her father enrolled her in the Cincinnati Art Academy so she could study sculpture with Louis Rebisso but woodcarving became her primary interest. While enrolled there she adopted the given name "Janet". Her father, William Scudder, died September 15, 1888, while his precocious daughter was teaching woodcarving at Coates College for Women in Terre Haute.

Three years later, she moved to Chicago where she was briefly employed as a furniture carver before being asked by Lorado Taft to join the White Rabbits.